The Best Enemies in the World english version
by Satai Nad
Summary: Repost. Still with the FBI, Clarice Starling is sent on a dangerous mission by her superiors. She has no choice but to put her life at risk. But it seems a certain someone has something to tell in this matter...
1. Chesapeake Bay

**The Best Enemies in the World**

by Sataï Nad

_Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please! This chapter is the translation of a complete story originally written in French and posted into the french Hannibal section a long time ago. I'd like to thank Julie for her help in the translation process of this 1st one. If someone is interested in the story and wants to give some time for further english chapters, you're welcome ! Otherwise, you will find the entire French story in its corresponding section. Hope you enjoy it ! And please don't forget : review…_

Disclaimer : The characters are not mine. They belong to Thomas Harris. I just borrowed them. No copyright infringement is intended. 

_"They say that light is stronger than darkness..._

_Pray they're right."_

Chapter 1: Chesapeake Bay

Clarice Starling slipped silently into the kitchen, a candlestick in her hand. Doctor Lecter, his back turned toward her, wiped his hands, and then launched the towel towards Paul Krendler, still prostrate in his wheelchair. She approached the doctor from behind and held the candlestick over the top of his head, ready to crack Lecter's skull open. In a flash, Doctor Lecter turned around and caught the young woman's arm. He twisted her wrist and she had to release the heavy candlestick. A short fight ensued until the doctor pushed her roughly against the refrigerator. He held her firmly in his grip, staring at her coldly, intending, it appeared, to kill her.

"I came halfway around the world to watch you run, Clarice... Let me run, huh?"

"Don't count on it."

He let her hands go and with a growl she immediately lunged for him. He grabbed her wrists again, pushed her back against the fridge and opened it enough to catch her ponytail in the door. He then tore off the handle of the refrigerator and deposited it beside the young woman's head who was now unable to move.

"Tell me, Clarice, would you ever say to me… stop... If you loved me, you'd stop?"

"Not in a thousand years."

"Not in a thousand years..."

He had a frightening grin and leaned suddenly over her, ready to bite her, then thought better of it.

"That's my girl!"

With a smile, he kissed her gently. Starling did not make any movement. As he pressed his lips against hers, Lecter heard a rattling noise and opened his eyes. Clarice's statement remained immeasureable, although a single tear ran down on her cheek. The doctor moved back and raised his left arm with surprise. He was handcuffed to her.

"Now, that's really interesting, Clarice, and I'm really pressed for time... So where's the key?"

Clarice Starling didn't answer. Doctor Lecter's face hardened.

"Where's the key?"

He should have known she'd say nothing. So he turned to the table behind him and grasped a cleaver with his free hand. With an abrupt movement, he took her wrist and firmly placed it on the draining board. He then ran the blade over Starling's wrist, his statement unreadable.

"Above or below the wrist, Clarice?... This is really gonna hurt..."

Clarice stared at him with doubts, seeking to hide her fear. He raised the cleaver... The young woman closed her eyes.

With a dry slam the cleaver came down. Starling screamed...

His left hand laid neatly cut on the board. The bloodstain spread and started to drip to the ground. The cleaver fell with a cold clanking noise. Doctor Lecter's right hand was clenched in a trembling fist. Only his heavy breathing betrayed his pain.

"My God... Doctor Lecter!" Starling said.

Against her will, she started to shake and sob. He finally raised his head. Sweat was streaming down his face but his blue-eyed glance was always inscrutable as if the physical pain had not reached his mind. He met her tear-filled eyes and turned away. He then snatched a towel from the table and made a tourniquet around his left forearm.

Clarice was staring at him in shock.

Without a word, Doctor Lecter turned for one last glance at her. He left the kitchen, carrying with him the memory of a horrified Starling, incapable of making the least movement.

Clarice was left alone. She glanced at Doctor Lecter's left hand. Red blood appeared black under the harsh neon lighting. Her head spun. She turned it away and started to vomit. Closing her eyes, she methodically recovered her composure. She contorted herself in an attempt to free her hair from the refrigerator.

Free at last, she looked at Paul Krendler who was lifeless. She opened the tap and rinsed out her mouth. In a vacant way, she washed her hands, watching Lecter's blood whirling in the u-bend. She took another look at Lecter's hand and saw his signet ring. Without thinking, she removed it from his little finger and wiped it. She left the kitchen, went upstairs, took the handcuff keys near the telephone and slipped the signet ring in her trousers pocket.

Outside, the police sirens wailed. Clarice Starling came out in the garden facing the lake. Already, the police headlights pierced the darkness. A helicopter flew over the park. She looked around for Hannibal Lecter. There was no trace of him. On the lake, the small boat that she had seen before loose from the dock. She moved forward in order to see it better. During this time, the police officers had already stormed the house and shouted from behind her. The beams of their flashlights cut through the night.

Someone shouted toward her back. 

"Show me your hands!"

Clarice raised her hands.

"Identify yourself!"

"I'm Clarice Starling… FBI!"

She had a better view of the boat now and it was empty. No movement in front of her, everything remained deathly calm.

Suddenly, fireworks exploded in the Chesapeake sky on this night of Independence Day. Clarice Starling's face betrayed no emotion.

Hannibal Lecter had managed to escape.

… To be continued…


	2. The Wait

**The Best Enemies in the World**

by Sataï Nad

_Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please! This chapter is the translation of a complete story originally written in French and posted into the french Hannibal section a long time ago. _

_I'm still looking for someone who could checked my english translations. For the courageous ones, you will find the entire French story in its corresponding section. Hope you enjoy it ! And please don't forget : keep on reviewing…_

Disclaimer : The characters are not mine. They belong to Thomas Harris. I just borrowed them. No copyright infringement is intended. 

Chapter 2: The Wait

Four weeks had gone by from this famous night.

Four weeks of harassment, inquiries, nightmares for Clarice Starling.

The F.B.I.'s attitude in this matter was reserved, if not to say, embarrassed. The investigation had revealed Mason Verger's manipulations and Paul Krendler's corruption. The testimony of Cordell, the personal physician of the billionaire, confirmed Starling's one. The disabled businessman had wanted to take his revenge on Doctor Lecter. Inspector Pazzi and the Sardes gangsters were paid for the capture of the monster in Italy ; Krendler was paid to produce false evidence against Starling in order to relieve her of her duties and to make her a bait to attract the famous killer. 

The press picked up the story. From a torturer, Doctor Lecter became almost a victim who took his revenge ; Most of the newspapers draged Starling through the mud. Others said that she had been manipulated and mistaken. They pointed out the facts which had led to the meeting between Starling and Lecter seven years earlier and the strange relationship they had developped since. "Beauty and the Beast" reappeared. They spoke about the case with fascination and horror. They made fun of the Bureau and the Department of Justice. They denounced the corruption of certain civil servants. Newspapers run increased... 

In spite of the dead men discovered at the farm, the Bureau was ready to make concessions. And for a good reason: Mason Verger's criminal intrigues upset the authorities. The case of Starling was however very delicate. Relieved of her duties, she had disobeyed a direct order from her superior, used a weapon not belonging to her and killed three men. She had helped a dangerous criminal. It was easy to charge her with the responsibility for Lecter's escape, even if she was incapacitate and unable to stop him. 

Once again, Starling's behaviour was into consideration, not the facts. Once again, she had understood what was going to occur and had done it all alone. After the death of James "Buffalo Bill" Gumb, the board of inquiry had forgot all about the trainee's disobedience at Senator Martin's request. The public opinion with her, Starling was untouchable. Now the wolf which claimed her head for a long time were setting themselves against her and rubing their hands. 

A counsel had been assigned for her defense. Starling tried to stand back from the legally manoeuvres behind the scenes because these considerations escaped her. She knew that her future in the F.B.I. depended on directors who would put politically-correct reasons forward rather than her states of service. Would she stay in? Would they request her to leave? 

Her gesture had put herself a little more on the fringe inside her own department. She was known undesirable but rumors had been replaced with silence. Her colleagues did not talk to her anymore, avoiding her like the plague. Some were unaware of her, others diverted their eyes, uncomfortable. Starling had always been a recluse who appreciated to work solo. Now she was really alone in this hardship.

And Lecter's words and acts always returned to haunt her. Since that night doubt had been sown in her and had disturbed the fragile balance and the discipline Starling was so proud of. Her reason and her policy now encountered contradictory repressed feelings. Shame, culpability and rage were now her companions. For the first time of her life, she knew that she hadn't acted according to her conscience that evening. She had shamefully betrayed herself and she had painfully betrayed him, this serial killer who had always been honest with her, who knew and understood her better than herself, this human paradox who could have been the closest friend she'd never have... 

Her system broke down like a house of cards. In the moments of fever, she hated Hannibal Lecter: He had awaked the screamings of the lambs. In the center of the storm, the limits between good and evil became fuzzy in her mind and she doubted everything. She, so sure of herself, so disciplined, called her principles into question. The examination of conscience was painful and alarming. In her despair, she heard the Doctor's voice with his particular tone, she saw his sardonic smile and his eyes watching her like a cat. Despite everything, she was hung on to him. No matter what she thought she systematically ran up against the truths he had stated. Because he was so damm right. Because since their first meeting, he was the gamemaster who was in control. Because in her deeper self, voices rose she couldn't shut up anymore... 

In the moments of clearness, she dared to consider the reasons of Hannibal Lecter's behaviour. Love was a concept which did not exist in the Doctor's universe she repeated herself. And yet, despite the reasonable arguments, she knew intuitively that he had acted by love. He protected her, not hesitating to kill for her, crossed the Atlantic Ocean only to see her running in a park, was exposed to being captured and killed, took the risk to see her again whereas he knew that she should be the instrument of his own loss, proposed an unambiguous deal to her, sacrificed his left hand instead of cutting hers... and forgave her refusal and her treachery. Everytime as red-hot iron engraved, she remembered the absence of animosity and the compassion she read in his tired glance. How she would have preferred to see coldness or hatred in those eyes... 

Starling tried to hold out. Another obsessing and much more insidious question went back over and over in her mind: what did she feel for him? Consciously, she couldn't like this monster. She tirelessly repeated these words but they didn't bring any comfort to her. She didn't forget who he was. However she was aware that the respect she had for him hid admiration and attraction. _People will say we're in love_. Seven years earlier, the doctor had pronounced these words to tease her and see her reaction. She had returned him an unscrutable face. But her heart had beaten faster under his scrutinizing stare. Had he felt it?

When he had kissed her, a part of her had screamed her repulsion. But deeply, another part had been delighted that she was at his mercy and that he prevented her from any freedom of movement. When he had touched her lips, she had not turned her head away. And she had not betrayed any emotion. In fact, she had let only one tear escape the moment she handcuffed him to her.

A tear of shame. The price of her treachery.

She still saw him holding up the cleaver and cuting down his wrist with a sinister slam. She had felt a huge pain as he suffered in silence. Hurting him this way had been insupportable. Always the lambs. But this time, it was of her own fault. In this moment, she hated herself, wishing that he had killed her. The feelings of shame and culpability had invaded her immediately. When their eyes had met, the doctor had read in her as in an open book and had returned her the same sorrow. Then, without a word, he had left. 

Clarice Starling kept turning over all those thoughts, being unceasingly tortured. She was on the verge of rupture. In these moment she cursed Hannibal Lecter and made herself a promise: she will not rest until his capture. At other times, waiting and indifference pushed her to the limits of her resolutions and patience. She wanted to leave, forget the F.B.I, the criminals, the manipulations, to start a new life... She also knew that running away was not the answer. Lecter was a part of her and would leave her no respite until the day of her death. And evading from responsibilities was not her nature. She was a warrior according to the doctor's own words. She had to now learn how to accept her duality and her contradictions. 

Clarice Starling lived the worst moment of her life with this feeling of insanity. Everything she had sacrificed escaped her. No matter how hard she tried she ran to the disaster. At this point she received a letter from Doctor Lecter.

… To be continued…


	3. Doctor Lecter's Letter

**The best Enemies in the World**

by Sataï Nad

Disclaimer : The characters are not mine. They belong to Thomas Harris. I just borrowed them. No copyright infringement is intended.

*******

Chapter 3 : Doctor Lecter's Letter

_Dear Clarice, _

_First, do forgive me and allow me to express sympathy with your present outstanding situation. Now well, tell me: did the rumours already start? If not, be assured it is just a matter of time. _

_Soon, people will go beyond your current disgrace and will wonder why I neglected to make you my next meal. Do not worry. Do not feel the need to clear up this suspicion because they will make up their own opinions. And unfortunately, no matter what you say, people believe what they want. Your determination to save me from Mason Verger's claws will darken their judgement. _

_Clarice, I have the regret to tell you they will never accept your merciful action as a gesture for sparing me torture. They will not see your obsession to save poor lambs from committed injustice. They will only see an F.B.I. agent who risked her career, her morals and her life to help a monster. You have now a stain on your character. No matter what you achieve in the future, it will never disappear. You will become the turned-bad agent and I will be forever your diabolic lover. What you did made me a new enigma but made you a corrupted outcast. Clarice, does that devour you to know that you sacrificed everything for finally losing everything? What remains to you now? A sullied name, a broken career? Do you always cherish the idea that the F.B.I. is your reason for living? Be honest towards yourself, Clarice. Enemies and envious people will always threaten you. What can they offer you? Only misunderstanding and suffering._

_Did you keep the dress? I hope so. Forgive me for having violated your intimacy during your sleep, but even Venus wouldn't have been able to appear as beautiful as you were. Sensual, provocative… and so fragile. _

_I still have the taste of your lips on mines. All the emotions you felt at this moment will remain engraved forever in my memory. Confusion, sadness, loss. Yes. The bitterness of this tear. Why and who did you cry for? Certainly not for me, nor for your career. Would this be shame? Perhaps one day, you will tell me. Perhaps or never. _

_In the eyes of the majority, you seem common. Few people see beyond appearances. Very little see into the splendid butterfly you could metamorphose. You still need to enrich you, Clarice, because nobody will do it for you. As my supposed love letter implied, you are indeed "honey in the lion". Release you of these unimportant beings. They do not see you as I see you. They do not know what I know. Does that devour you as well to know that the only being who sees you such as you really are is a murderer? Although that idea frightens you, you know that I know you better than yourself. And you know me like anybody. In the eyes of the world, you are my weakness. Is that statement wrong or true? Alas, you might never know. _

_Do tell me, Clarice Starling, will you continue to chase me without the support of the Bureau? Will you try to prove your real value in the external world? I hope so. We could have so much fun. _

_Where are you, Clarice? _

_What do you want?_

_What is my place in your world?_

_Ask you sincerely the questions and the answers will obviously burst out. _

_Yours sincerely, _

_Hannibal Lecter_

Clarice Starling slowly read over and over the letter and remained thoughtful. Her first reaction would have been to give it to the laboratory for analysis. Of course, they would have discovered nothing. And doing so, she would have respected the procedure. The truth was she did not want to do this. This mail was too personal. Clarice approached the paper of her nose and smelled it. The fragrance of his cologne, this male odor so typically him reminded her of their kiss. She drove out the images which had spouted out spontaneously in her mind. She did not want to go in that direction: fancying about him lead to nothing. 

However, she could not draw aside the feeling of loss and regret which remained all this long day.

*******

When Starling arrived one morning at her office - "Hannibal's house" as it was called - she found Clint Pearsall waiting for her with two men she didn't know.

"Starling, let me introduce Matt Jennings from the Department of Justice. And this is Josef Stevenson from the Organized Crime Section."

They were greeted. Jennings spoke.

"Agent Starling, we will not lose ourselves in chatterings concerning this affair: things are going wrong for you. And as you know it, this Lecter business disturbs the Department of Justice. We would like to put a term in it for the benefit of the two parts. But first of all, I want it clear that this conversation will remain between us."

Starling threw a glance towards Pearsall who imperceptibly shook his head.

"All right. I'm listening to you."

"In a few days, you will be informed of your dismissal. Of course, we will ask you to resign. What you will do officially…"

The young woman tensed. She felt a knot in her stomach and a sense of panic overwhelmed her. She looked alternatively at the three men and felt they had something else in mind.

"And?"

"You will leave a few days in order to think of your new situation, to plan your future without the F.B.I. "

"The decision to dismiss you is primarily political. You're only a scapegoat. And we want to benefit from this opportunity." 

"An opportunity? I don't understand. What are you getting at? "

"Your states of service are proof enough of your abilities, Agent Starling. In fact, you have the perfect profile for the assignment we want to entrust you."

Starling was surprised.

"What kind of assignment?"

"Josef will give you all the details. Semi-officially, you're still an active agent. Put aside Josef, Clint and I, nobody else will know about your role. You have to rely on yourself. I don't hide this undercover mission is particularly risky."

"And if I say no?"

There was an heavy silence. Matt Jennings spoke again.

"You really don't have many choice, Starling."

"If you succeed, you will gain a new respectability. You will be officially reinstated and promoted."

"And if I fail?"

"You will be out on your own. Pearsall and his men will not intercede unless things really turn bad."

Starling remained quiet, measuring the importance of Stevenson's words. Her future was at stake. The three men awaited her immediate answer.

"Very well, I'm in."

… To be continued…


	4. The Lure

**The best Enemies in the World**

by Sataï Nad

Disclaimer : The characters are not mine. They belong to Thomas Harris. I just borrowed them. No copyright infringement is intended.

*******

Chapter 4: The Lure

Clarice Starling was upset. The Miami plane was delayed. Sat in a corner of the waiting room, sunglasses dissimulating her eyes and a cap on her head, she tried to go unnoticed while reading the news. Even a week after the official anounce of her resignation, the newspapers keep on speaking about "the affair". Since the information had been published, the reporters hadn't not stopped badgering her to obtain an interview. Clarice Starling had stayed shut up at home, avoiding coming out. She stopped answering on the phone. She stopped reading her mail too. She changed her e-mail address twice. Jack Crawford and Ardelia, her friend from the Academy called her. They both worried for her. She never called them back. 

She was pretty busy before her departure. She rented a villa under a false identity and prepared her journey to Florida. She was exhausted after weeks of media pressure and personal stress. She also knew that she wouldn't have the leisure to rest. To be in this state of mind was part of the mission. The more they would believe her desperate, the more they would be interested in her. _A lure, this is what you became once more, _she thought bitterly. _A lure ready to be sacrificed without regrets._ From the very beginning she had accepted the risks of her job. She had lost colleagues, sometimes friends during missions. She knew she could have been killed. She already had been wounded twice in shootings. But never had she been misconsidered. She knew that this mission was risky and that her chances of success were poor. She questionned her superiors and herself : was she ready for a reinstatement at any price ? She seriously doubted her own motivations. The Miami plane finally took off. Starling decided to empty her mind and sank in a deep sleep without dreams.

*******

The villa was vast. Starling had chosen it for its isolated place. She quietly visited the house and set up at the ground floor in a large room that opened onto the swimming pool. Then she went to the garage and looked at the land cruiser at her disposal. In the park, she entered the small shelter where the keepers stored their hardware. She came out a few moments later handing a toolbox. Clarice came in the villa and went up to the bathroom on the first floor. She opened the trap door of the tub. She lit the flashlight she had taken in the kitchen and found the briefcase. She closed the trap door and went to the living room where she made the inventory of the case's contents. Inside she found a passport and a driving licence under a false identity, a protected mobile phone with its battery, a loaded gun provided with a silencer and some bullets, and finaly, a digital decoder. There was also a large envelope she already knew the contents. Nevertheless she opened it. She was handing a photograph of a mature man, around 50, large and slender, surrounded by bodyguards. Her targuet. A complete file on this individual was enclosed too. Starling put the papers back and closed the envelope. Inside the pocket of the case she found the small key she was looking for and some numbers engraved on a plastic card. She kept the key and the card with her, charged the telephone battery then locked the briefcase in the safe hidden in the room. Five minutes later, she came out and drove to downtown.

Starling did some shopping to fill her refrigerator with food, went to a bookshop where she bought some books and some music cds, then she finally entered the HSBC Bank. An employee led her to the strongroom. She located the safe and opened it. The young woman found forty thousand dollars in small notes. She took all the money. Before going out, she signed the register with her assumed name and left the bank. A man watched her leaving and went after her. She didn't notice him.

*******

Clarice Starling came out on the terrace to benefit from the mildness of this evening and to see the stars twinkling. It's been five days now. She had spent her time to plan her mission. Focused on her role, she had emptied her mind from the recent events and had run every morning on the beach where she finaly saw him. He wasn't very reserved. She knew he wasn't a man with the F.B.I. But it was a sign. The people concerned with her future would contact her soon. And her show will start on…

Clarice was lost in the contemplation of the starry dark sky. Inevitably, she conjured up a mental picture of Hannibal Lecter. _Where are you, Doctor? I hope we have some stars in common as you told me once._ The feeling of loss returned, sharpier than ever and a sudden melancholy seized her. She shivered and briefly closed her eyes. _No more think of him_. Anyway, she certainly would not see him again. Not after the letter that sounded like a good-bye in her mind. She shook herself up. _Ridiculous… I'm ridiculous._ She left the terrace and went to lie down. 

_=====  At the same moment, somewhere in Havana  =====_

Like a statue, a man was standing in the shadow on a balcony. Smoking a cigar, he silently observed the sea. For attentive watchers, this solitary figure in the night seems to wait for someone or something. A woman, some would have said. An answer, others would have advanced. No, the massive and stylish man was watching for a sign : a call for help. This evening, his formidable instinct as a hunter had whispered something to him. He closed his eyes, relaxed and emptied his mind. Briefly, he saw a young woman standing up alone in the dark, her white nightdress reflecting the light of the Moon. As quickly as it appeared, the vision disappeared, but stayed engraved in one of the richest room of his memory palace, associated with a feeling he immediately put a name on: self-mockery. As if the young woman told herself : _I'm ridiculous_. He was surprised and focused. But he wasn't mistaken. He smiled. _No, Clarice, you're not_. He seemed that the young woman didn't need his assistance. He hadn't felt insecurity or distress. It surprised and reassured him at the same time. He threw a last glance to the stars and addressed them a silent prayer. _Sweet dreams, my beautiful Clarice_. Then he left the balcony and disappeared.

*******

Clarice focused on her breathing. She was running for twenty minutes on a regular rhythm at a good pace. She met others runners, but little overtook her. She felt her form coming back and already got an immense satisfaction from it. Running had always allowed her to go back to her roots and to the essentials as in this moment, to breathe in and out, to feed the muscles with oxygen, to stretch herself to her limits and to control her heart beats. She suddenly was aware that two men were following her. They were running easily behind her and maintained a short distance. She felt some irritation due to their presence. She tried to ignore them and kept on running along the beach. She finaly took a path in the dunes and the two men followed close on her heels. The irritation was replaced with worrying but she kept on running and accelerating the rhythm. However she did not outdistance them. Starling knew that she could not continue a long time at this rate so she finally decided to slow down. The men slowed down too and remained behind her. She took the road that taked her home. A real concern succeeded her faintness when a limo started to go to her side at the same speed as her. Clarice was standing five meters from it but did not manage to see the faces of the occupants through the opaque windows. She noticed her two pursuers in her neck escorting her. She sent them a glance and both returned impassively her look behind their dark sunglasses. _Oh – oh,_ thought Clarice. Slowly, the rear window of the vehicle went down.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" said someone.

Clarice tried to ignore the man and kept on running.

"Please... stop, you're exhausting me... I have to talk to you, Miss Starling", he added.

Clarice stopped as well as the two men. The vehicle braked.

"My name's Gallagher, not Starling."

"Oh, come on..." 

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I will answer this question soon, but please get in the car."

Starling hesitated. She looked at her escorts who made a short step towards her.

"We're not going to harm you, I promise. I just want to have a chat with you."

The door opened up and she reluctantly got into the car.

The limo was fresh thanks to air-conditionning. The chauffeur drove off.

"Where do you take me along?" she asked

"We will make a short drive, then we will bring you home. Meanwhile, I'm getting to know you better".

"What do you want from me?"

"What an impatient young woman you are ! Do you want something to drink ? some fresh water? fresh fruit juice? "

The tone of the man was inviting. Clarice was surprised. She accepted some water. While drinking, she took the opportunity to observe his companion. He seemed to be around forty but was certainly more. His face was tanned as if he had spent the whole year in the sun. Ironically, he was clothed like those mobsters in the movies. The outfit was complete: the watch set with diamonds, the gold ring and the gold chain bracelet, the carefully manucured hands, the perfectly black tailored suit, the expensive pink shirt, the Italian shining shoes. This guy exuded laundering. 

"Now, let me explain what brings me around. My name is Tony Benedetti. I'm working for an organization which would like to use your services, Miss Starling. We know your present difficulties and we know that you look for an employer. "

" Really? " she ironised.

" Yes. "

" And you have something to offer me? "

" That depends. Our contact in Washington took some information on you. He discovered interesting facts the newspapers didn't talk about. For example, Mr. Krendler was your associate... "

She tensed. " Who told you this? "

" Quite an informed and reliable source... Why the FBI has willingly hushed this information up? "

Starling looked through the window hidding an inner satisfaction. As envisaged, the lies gathered against her by the Bureau had circulated and achieved their goals. It was her game to play.

" Corrupted agents are a bad publicity for the Bureau that doesn't want to wash its dirty linen in public..." 

Amused, Benedetti shook his head and smiled. "We found out traces of the transfer Mason Verger made on your benefit. A million dollars to attract ` Hannibal the Cannibale', it's a lot of money! "

" I took a lot of risks. Doctor Lecter is not an ordinary criminal. He's very clever and unpredictable "

" Why did you go to the farm?"

" I wanted to see this bastard dead. "

Benedetti took a cigar and lit it. Slowly, he blew some smoke towards Clarice. 

"So it was personal. What did he do to you? "

" He manipulated me like his victims. He's a pervert who consumes you for his own pleasure. This monster doesn't deserve to live. Believe me: you don't want Hannibal Lecter in your head "

" It was also personal for Evelda Drumgo? "

" No, it was different. She didn't leave me the choice."

" She had a baby in her arms. "

" I acted automatically. If I had to do it again, I will do it again. Without hesitation "

" You could cold-bloodedly shot on a unarmed person? "

" Lord... Listen, I do not know where you want this conversation to go but it's becoming particularly unpleasant. Or you tell me what you are awaiting from me or I'm going away right now..."

" Calm down... I just want to know if you have the necessary skills for the job "

" Which are? "

" Patience, I still have some questions... What really happened to you at the farm? "

" Doctor Lecter succeeded in escaping while taking me as a hostage. He was using me like a human shield. I was wounded. He took me along to Paul Krendler's house close to the lake. During all that time, I was unconscious. When I woke up, he already killed Paul and was about to do the same with me. I succeeded in alerting the police force and I defended myself. He fled when the cops arrived "

" Verger's physician gave another version of the facts. "

" Cordell lied. He was working for Mason Verger and paid by him. He agreed to give the authorities the same version as mine. "

" Unfortunately, there was the discovery of this bank account in your name. "

" Yes "

" Without that detail, you wouldn't have been troubled... Isn't this business unfair? You did only your job after all. Such a waste. "

" What do you suggest, Mr Benedetti? "

" I want you to work for my employer, Mr Andrew Palmer. Do you know him? "

" His name is often quoted in the financial newspapers "

"His reputation always preceded him. In the eighties, he made his fortune as a golden boy. In the nineties, he became a company's rescuer. Mr. Palmer is in big business. His activities are very diversified. He made ennemies for himself because his financial arrangements are regarded as limit by many."

" These " arrangements " as you call them led him more than once in front of the courts for fraud, Mr Benedetti. "

"Andrew Palmer has done nothing illegal: he simply benefits from the freedom of the legislative fields. Besides, concerning the legal proceedings you're refering to, he was recognized innocent." 

"Thanks to his lawyers," she added.

Tony Benedetti gave her a smile and leaned towards her "I owe you a confidence: Mr Palmer pays me very well to defend his interests. As is the case with you, if you agree to work for him."

" Go ahead. "

" We need someone to rely on, a methodical and organized person who can collect first hand informations. You are stubborn and you know how to use your brain. You have all the necessary qualities for this job "

" What kind of information do you need? "

" Private and confidential informations, of course. True stakes are only on this ground. You will have means at your disposal and a great freedom of actions. It is up to you to use them with efficiency. " 

" Ok. What else? "

" You will work for me directly. You will never have to mention Mr Palmer's name. The golden rule is confidence and discretion. Is that clear ?"

"Yes."

"What do you think?"

"It's enticing."

"Of course it is. It's an opportunity you have to grasp. "

Clarice shake her head. " How much? "

" Two thousand dollars per week for a start. Then, according to the information value, you will be granted bonus" 

" Ok, and I want an apartment and a car in my name." 

" I was going to offer them, " he said with a smile.

" A bank account abroad in some tax-free banana republic." 

"Consider it done. Well ?…"

"OK."

"Then we have a deal. Very well, Miss Starling." He shook her hand. " You will not regret it."

Smiling back at Benedetti, she settled down comfortably in the leather seat while he phoned to her new boss. She was relieved: her examination was a complete success.

To Be continued.


End file.
